Lowndes: Three stops an option

Pole qualifier Craig Lowndes has admitted he might have to resort to a three stop strategy in today's 200km Race 16 of the V8 Supercars Championship at Barbagallo Raceway.

Two stops are mandatory, but tyre wear on the abrasive surface could force at least some cars in a third time.

Almost every driver made one stop to change tyres in each of yesterday's two 100km races because of tyre wear.

"We are going to have to do longer stints than yesterday if you do the two stop strategy," the Red Bull Racing Australia driver told v8supercars.com.au. "You might see three stops but who knows.

"There is definitely going to be a curveball in there somewhere, but if you are going to do the two stop strategy that we are looking at then you are going to have to do more than the 26 lap run we did yesterday.

"So tyre wear is going to be huge around here."

Second fastest qualifier and Championship leader Mark 'Frosty' Winterbottom said a safety car intervention would also play a role in determining pit stop strategies.

"If a safety car comes out on lap 10 then people are going to pit, get the fuel in and then it's just tyres and I am sure it will be a three-stopper," the Ford Performance Racing driver said.

"Three stops is an option but I cannot imagine off the front row there would be too many drivers doing three stops," he added. "But when you are racing someone you often react to what they do, or they react to what you do, and before you know it everyone has done three stops."

Only VIP Petfoods Holden Commodore driver Shane van Gisbergen and Jeld-Wen Ford Falcon pilot Jack Perkins made it through a race yesterday without a pit stop and start with an extra set of fresh tyres. It is believed Erebus Motorsport's Will Davison also has a spare set.

Winterbottom says that could prove crucial.

"Guys like Jack who have an extra set of tyres could charge up from the back fairly quickly," he predicted.

Lowndes' confidence for the race has been boosted because he and engineer Jeromy Moore have made setup progress extending the tyre life of their Holden Commodore VF.

"We are going into an area we have never been," he cautioned. "We will wait and see what happens, see what the pace of the race is. Frosty is second on the grid and he has good speed and good tyre life and I think that is where out competition is going to come from."

Lowndes currently trails Winterbottom in the Championship by 110 points.